


Oh Glory, I'm Not A Believer

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: I missed science bros so much thank you mark ruffalo for reminding me, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-30 00:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12642120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A lot's changed in two years, but at least Tony still wears his pants stupid tight.(Or, the Asgardians reach earth, Thor asks a favor, and Bruce admires the view but sees the whole picture.)





	Oh Glory, I'm Not A Believer

“Hey Point Break, nice of you to finally drop in.”

Bruce figures that F.R.I.D.A.Y. alerted Tony to their presence, because almost as soon she finishes greeting them, the elevator dings and Tony is stepping into his penthouse with as little abandon as he’s ever had.

He goes straight to the drink cabinet and pours himself some scotch without measuring. Bruce knows that he should be concerned because _okay, Tony’s drinking again_ , but he’s more focused on watching Tony move than anything.

He can’t say where Tony came here from because the man will dress _up_ for any occasion, but he’s guessing that it was a slightly more casual event because Tony’s wearing a white tee shirt under his blazer and instead of suit pants, black jeans that hug him so tightly that Bruce once again wonders how Tony walks when he himself struggled to do so in the little amount of time he had to wear Tony’s clothes.

When Tony turns back towards them, his sunglasses are folded on the neck of his shirt, and he looks them all over with incredulity. He stares at Bruce a bit too long before settling his eyes back on Thor.

“And I see you brought friends,” he says, and nods his head towards each of them, “Loki, I see you’re not in chains anymore. Bruce, long time no see.”

Tony takes a long sip from his scotch and grins, all teeth, at them. He leans back against the bar and crosses his arms.

“Well? What do you guys need, I don’t feel like guessing so just spit it out.”

Bruce is taken aback by that for a second, and so is Thor, judging off the look he shares with the god. Tony is being so rude with them, so blase. It’s reminiscent of how he behaved when they all first met, during the Chitauri invasion. Tony is treating them like he treats the press, or S.I.’s competitors.

Thor, never one to back down, steps forward.

“Stark, it’s good to see you.”

Tony doesn’t take that at face value, and stares intently at his glass while he swirls it.

“What happened to your eye, Thor?,” he says softly.

Even Loki flinches at that and Thor’s smile falls.

“That’s why we’re here, I must ask for your generosity-” Thor starts, but Loki interrupts and cuts to the chase.

“Our realm has fallen and all of Asgard is currently in a ship above us with nowhere to go. Will you house them or not?”

For a second, Bruce thinks Tony might say no, just for Loki’s attitude, but Tony is nothing if not generous. Bruce also knows after some odd conversations with Tony late at night, and some even more odd ones with Loki on the ship, that the two of them have a weird begrudging respect for one another. It seems to work, too, because Tony sighs into his glass and shakes his head ‘yes’ at them.

“Fine, whatever, they can stay here. Some of them might have to double up though. I don’t know how many people you’ve got and I want to be clear that this isn’t a permanent situation.”

Tony sets his glass down and refills it higher than before, waving them off as he does it.

“If that’s all you wanted, then shoo. Bring your crew down to the lobby and F.R.I.D.A.Y. will get you sorted out.”

Thor looks like he wants to argue, and he would but he’s too preoccupied doing so with Loki. The two think that they’re whispering, but they’re going back and forth quite loud, and Bruce rubs his temple at the headache he can already feel coming on.

“Guys just go, I’ll explain the rest to him.”

They both agree to that, and Loki teleports the two of them out with his magic- the same way he got them in. From the corner of his eye, Bruce can see Tony warily watching them go.

When they’re gone, Bruce realizes that this is what he’s been waiting for. He had missed Tony. He hasn’t been back to himself long, but during his adventures with Thor he found himself wishing for Tony near constantly. Don’t get him wrong, him and Thor got along much better than he expected, but deep down he knows that Thor has more in common with the other guy than he does with Banner. There’s nothing wrong with that either, but he can only be one or the other, the chasm between the two can’t be ignored. Tony, on the other hand, has always had a way with both him and the other guy.

Bruce knows in a way that it’s because Tony has never feared the other guy. He admired the Hulk even, for saving Bruce. During battles, he even used to talk to the other guy and play around with him when Bruce was stuck in that form. Every Time Bruce would languish about the other guy, about what his serum had done to him, Tony would defend him- and the Hulk has a fondness for Tony, too, that the creature rarely gives out.

On the flipside, Bruce also shares a bond with Tony that started delving far past platonic a long time ago. So many late nights spent in the lab, so many jokes shared between each other, and secrets passed in confidence has culminated in them knowing every nuance of each other. True comfort is found in finding somebody who can know you as deeply as they know each other and loving them anyways.

Tony worries his lower lip in between sips and Bruce knows that if he doesn’t speak soon then Tony will black out before they get around to it.

“So, I was the other guy for two years.”

Tony chokes on his drink and looks up at him.

“Bruce.”

He shrugs and walks over to Tony, and gently takes the tumbler out of his hands and slides it down the bar.

“Tell me what I missed.”

Tony’s breath hitches and Bruce puts a hand on his back and walks them both over to the couch, where he waits patiently until Tony starts talking.

Tony explains everything, starting with Sokovia which is still a fresh wound in Bruce’s mind, and ending with Siberia. There’s a part of Bruce that’s furious with Tony for working with Ross, who had come after him so unrelenting and brutal in the past. He has to force himself to see past his anger to understand why Tony was willing to work with Ross.

The writing was on the wall for the Accords, especially after Sokovia. Bruce had his own hand in Ultron, and he can see why Tony would back accountability. He can see it even now that Tony’s guilt still eats at him. Besides, once he’s told about the problem of the Winter Soldier, and his connection to Steve, Bruce can easily see that the rest of the team’s resistance to the Accords had little to do with the actual document-and more to do with botched team dynamics. Bruce had said it once and he’d say it again; the Avengers were a ticking time bomb, and this fallout is just the aftermath of the explosion.

He’ll admit, at least, that he didn’t think that they’d implode this badly- but it was going to happen wether him and Thor were here or not. Steve never would have told Tony about his parents, and the others never would have sided with Tony over Steve. It’s the simple, awful fact of how their team works, and if that’s not going to change, then looking over to where Tony’s dug his head into Bruce’s shoulder, he’s glad at least that Tony is out of it.

He runs his hand along the back on Tony’s head, through his hair, and decides that there’s nothing left to talk about tonight. Tony’s too drained, and a little drunk, and Bruce has been traveling too long to not be tired.

He says, “Let’s go to bed,” and Tony nods into his shoulder and stands to walk a little shakily back to the bedroom. Bruce lingers on the couch a little longer before joining him, and finds himself staring at Tony’s too tight jeans again. He’d question why he’s so starved lately but it’s not as if the other guy was getting any over the past two years. The thought of peeling Tony out of his stupid tight clothes to get to the olive skin underneath is so tempting, but Bruce can constrain himself until tomorrow when Tony will be wearing something equally as tight anyways.


End file.
